A little song, a little dance: Wheaton College celebrating 70th annual Artist Series
The thrill of live performance by top artists doesn't have to mean dealing with the logistics of a road trip.
Wheaton College celebrates this notion Friday, Sept. 27, when the 70th annual Artist Series kicks off with an Opening Night Festival, followed by a concert with the Grammy-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet.
“The idea is bringing great music, great artists close to home, bringing the audience to Wheaton without the inconvenience of expensive parking, a long commute and child-care costs,” said Tony Payne, artist series general manager and Wheaton College music professor.
Six single-night shows will be presented through March. Payne said the performances in Edman Chapel feature musical variety and excellence.
“Each concert is its own highlight because it's so unique. We enjoy that there's variety and surprise,” he said. “Each one is like a jewel. Each jewel is unique.”
At Friday's Opening Night Festival, a preconcert social will be held from 6 to 7:15 p.m. on the Edman Chapel plaza. Visitors may purchase Billy Brick's wood-fired pizza. Complimentary servings of Kona ice, Graham's chocolate, I Have a Bean coffee and Little Popcorn Store popcorn will be available, Payne said.
And live music will be provided courtesy of the Wheaton College Community School of the Arts.
The festival precedes a show that will mark the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet's debut at the Artist Series.
Payne said the musicians will perform jazz guitarist Pat Metheny's “Road to the Sun” and “By Chants,” a jazz composition by composer Andrew York.
On Nov. 1, a ballet adaptation of C.S. Lewis' novel “The Great Divorce” will be presented by Ballet 5:8, a Chicago-area dance company. The dance piece is titled “The Space in Between” and concerns the afterlife fantasy themes in Lewis' book.
“I'm thinking, 'How on Earth do you capture that story with dance?' They seem to have a way of doing so,” Payne said. “That's going to be a really special event.”
The Irish Chamber Orchestra will perform Nov. 16, led by conductor Jorg Widmann.
“They are emerging in prominence all over the world,” Payne said.
British tenor Ian Bostridge will be joined by Chinese classical guitarist Xuefei Yang on Jan. 24, 2020. Yang performed as a soloist in the 2015-2016 artist series season.
“In February, Morten Lauridsen is going to be here in residence for a week. At the end of that week, the Wheaton College choirs are going to present 'Lux Aeterna.' It's going to be directed by our own faculty artist, Jerry Blackstone,” Payne said.
Award-winning composer Lauridsen, an honored guest at the Feb. 21 show, wrote “Lux Aeterna” in 1997.
The series wraps up March 21 with The Langston Hughes Project performing jazz compositions written by music professor Ron McCurdy to accompany Hughes' poem “Ask Your Mama - 12 Moods for Jazz,” a piece that addresses the African-American experience.
“There will be poetry spoken from the stage,” Payne said.
Payne said the series strives to offer an alternative to staying home in front of a big-screen TV.
“It's a very competitive market out there. People have a lot of distractions,” he said.
Attending a live concert surrounded by a crowd delivers a different experience.
“The idea is, it's a conversation in music,” he said.
Artist Series Opening Night Festival
When: 6 to 7:15 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27; Los Angeles Jazz Quartet concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Edman Chapel Plaza, Wheaton College, Washington and Franklin streets
Admission to 7:30 p.m. concert: $45 for adults, $40 for seniors and $10 for students and youth
Info: artistseries.org and (630) 752-5010